A more efficient procedure is needed for the removal of radioactive cesium from waste streams from nuclear fission plants. Present practice entails the addition of sodium tetraphenylborate to such streams with the consequent formation of a precipitate which must thereafter be disposed of. With some difficulty, the cesium component of the precipitate may be recovered.
Problems have also been encountered in the recovery of cesium from cesium ores, such as pollucite. Conventional technology involves digestion of the ore with sulfuric or hydrochloric acid to produce an acidic aqueous solution containing cesium ions. Cesium is recovered from such solutions in various ways. Alternatively, the cesium ore may be treated with a strong base to provide a basic solution containing cesium ions from which cesium is recovered.